Best Lines in Horror

You know those nerdy people who can recite every line along with the characters of all of their favorite movies? Annoying right? I’m not ashamed to say that I am one of those dorky bastards who cannot get enough of movie quotes. In fact, I live and thrive off of them. Sue me. Yes, I can recite the entire script of Jeepers Creepers but I cannot remember the list of vocabulary words that I painfully studied for 6 tiring months for my GRE. It’s pathetic, I know and don’t care.

Nothing makes me happier than being able to insert my favorite movie quotes into my daily life, which only baffles the people I speak to. Despite all of my nerdiness and horror movie madness, I am positive that there are several of you out there who are just like little old me. That’s why I was prompted to compile a list of my favorite horror movie lines, hoping to hear all of your favorites as well!

1.) “They’re Coming to Get You Barbara!”–Night of the Living Dead

Whenever I meet a Barbara, which is rare, I can’t help but want to deliver this line to her. This line is classic in both zombie and horror movie history because it’s simple yet creepy. Not to mention, we all know that there actually is someone coming to get Barbara and if her big brother paused from being a jerk–as brothers typically are–he would have seen the shambling corpse headed their way.

2.) “When There is No More Room in Hell, the Dead Will Walk the Earth”–Dawn of the Dead

This line always brings a smile to my face. The way that Ken Foree delivers it is what makes it so effective and possibly my favorite movie lines ever. When Peter casually recites this classic line while calmly overlooking the zombies approaching them, you know that shit is going to get a lot more insane. If only I could make this my ringtone. Hey, wait a minute…aren’t you Mr. Rockmore?

3.)“They’re all gonna laugh at you!”–Carrie

After watching Carrie, I am much more thankful for the mother that I have. Mrs. White was a psycho and Piper Laurie played her perfectly well. My favorite line in the movie is when she insists to her excited daughter that everyone is going to laugh at her, once again bringing her down and trying to keep her self-conscious. Whenever I get nervous about a particular situation, I can’t help but play this scene over and over in my head. Hmmm…that’s probably not normal.

4.) “Hey, up yours with a twirling lawnmower!”-A Nightmare on Elm Street

Oh eighties cheese; you were the best thing about horror films produced during that time. I can’t help but giggle whenever I hear the tough bad-boy, Rod Lane, shout out the best diss he could think of and quite possibly the best diss in horror movie history. And he wasn’t able to survive Freddy? That’s totally shocking. Not.

5.)“I’m here to chew bubble gum and kick ass, and I’m all out of bubble gum”-They Live

Roddy Piper is the epitome of badass and he only further proves himself in They Live. Everyone’s favorite scene from the film, other than the over-the-top fight scene in an alley, has to be the scene where Piper walks into a bank and shoots up all of the pompous disguised aliens it’s filled with. This line is one of the best because it’s simply awesome and I don’t think anyone could have delivered it better than Rowdy himself.

6.) “I spent eight years trying to reach him, and then another seven trying to keep him locked up because I realized what was living behind that boy’s eyes was purely and simply evil”–Halloween

For me, I think that Donald Pleasance made Halloween. He was perfect as the good guy who was trying to triumph over evil and save the small town of Haddonfield from the psychotic Michael Myers. Every word that came out of his mouth was so attractive because he delivered them so genuinely and perfectly well. I’m pretty sure that Sam Loomis could have told me ANYTHING and I would have believed and admired his every word. Too bad his character became a little over-the-top in the future films of the series.

7.)“You see, Jason was my son and today is his birthday”–Friday the 13th

Whenever Friday the 13th rolls around on the calendar, I repeatedly say this line. I know, I’m a little mentally retarded but I can’t help it. How can one not love this line? Mrs. Voorhees was just a mother who was trying to avenge her child and who can blame her?! The bone chilling way that Betsy Palmer smoothly delivers the line, as if she is totally reasonable, is what makes it even more special. At that point, audiences truly realize just how mentally messed up this Mama really is. But if you ask me, those horny teenage bastards deserved it! Abstinence is the best policy, kids!

Jack Nicholson is the man and I’ve said it before. Most people would say that the best lines of The Shining were, “Here’s Johnny,” or “Redrum,” but those lines are too obvious and too overplayed. This scene was, for me, the scariest of the film because it’s the point where Wendy actually realizes that her husband is losing his damn mind and he isn’t afraid to hurt her. The way that Nicholson uses those precious brows and that fabulous smile to help deliver his lines just gives me goosebumps. He made Jack Torrance super hard to hate, despite the fact that he was a total nut job. I still love you, Jack.

9.)“Are you not the babysitter?”–The House of the Devil

This scene is pretty much my favorite scene in The House of the Devil simply due to it’s brutality. When A.J. Bowen’s character comes out of nowhere, audiences are aware that he’s obviously up to no good, however, we don’t expect what happens when it actually does–at least, I didn’t. When he pulled out that gun and suddenly shoots the poor girl’s brains out, it literally left me with my jaw dropped. It was one of the few “oh, shit” moments I’ve seen in a while in a horror and I was really impressed. The scene immediately sets the tone for the rest of the film because right then we know that the film is only going to get a lot darker.

10.) “ I just can’t take no pleasure in killing. There’s just some things you gotta do. Don’t mean you have to like it”–The Texas Chainsaw Massacre

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is one of the few horror films that actually makes me physically sick whenever I watch it. There’s something about the way that it’s shot along with the performances throughout the film that make it seem so REAL. The scene that gets me the most is when Sally is tied up to a chair and forced to have dinner with the cannibalistic family who captured her. The way that the family members taunt her and laugh at her is so heartbreaking and terrifying because you know that the girl stands no chance. When the head of the household delivers those gut-wrenching lines, you know that he means business and that he has no remorse for taking a human life. Human tastes like chicken, right?

11.)“We all go a little mad sometimes”–Psycho

Norman Bates is the epitome of a mama’s boy and he proves that he is worthy of his mother’s love by all of the murdering he does in her name. The classic line from the film is so simple but so completely terrifying as well. Poor Norman is just trying to make his mother happy and justify he wrongful actions. Except that his mother is friggin dead and he totally doesn’t acknowledge that. Remind me never to marry a man that is super close to his mom.

12.)“This is God”–A Nightmare on Elm Street

Do you remember when Fred Krueger was a badass monster who made you afraid to go to sleep? Freddy was best in the first installment of the series because he was actually ruthless and terrifying. Not only was he brutal in the way that he killed people, he also delivered some creepy lines to help his victims realize that he wasn’t messing around. This line scares me the most because Krueger is basically saying, “Fuck you, there is no hope. You are going to die now.” Cue the peeing of my pants now.

13.)“It’s all true. The Boogeyman is real and you found him”–House of 1000 Corpses

Bill Mosley is amazing as Otis because you actually believe that he is a cannibalistic murderer who has no empathy for the human race. This scene was terrifying in more than one way: The group of victims was tied up and gagged, Otis was wearing the young girl’s father’s face as a mask, and oh yeah, he says this insanely psychotic and totally creepy line to ease her fear. If someone told me that he was the boogeyman while wearing my father’s face as a mask, I would pray to God that I would die from fear before the dude has the chance to do whatever it is he is going to do with me. Uh, check please? 14.)“Oh yes, there will be blood”–Saw III

This line is also something that I recite at the most random times, mostly when I accidentally cut myself and start to bleed. I mean, the line fits perfectly with the situation–I can’t resist a good horror reference. Tobin Bell proved himself to be an awesome villain in the first two installments of the series but there’s something about his voice that makes this line so incredibly awesome and just scary. Once Jigsaw says this, when there most likely already was some blood spatter, you can imagine how much worse it’s going to get. We got a bleeder!

15.) “They’re here”–Poltergeist

Let me start off by saying this: I never, EVER want to hear someone say this to me, no matter what the situation is. I don’t do great with surprises or unplanned visits. Who the hell are they? Were ‘they’ invited? No. Tell them they are not allowed to come. All of those questions and statements would have been my remarks to the adorable and creepy Carol Anne. This line is terrifying because it’s so out of the blue and ambiguous–we don’t know who they are but we’re pretty sure that we don’t want to meet them.

It’s so hard to narrow down a list of my favorite horror lines because there are so many amazing classics to choose from. But, if I continued to name every single one of my favorites, I would be writing for days and my hands are tired. What are some of your favorite horror movie lines?

"Welcome….to hell" (right before Detective Thorne has his face ripped in half in Inferno)

There are also plenty from some of the low budget one's I've seen such as the infamous Silent Night Deadly Night 2 where the main character shouts "GARBAGE DAY!" before blowing a man taking his garbage out away with his 44 magnum during the most sarcastic killing spree I've ever seen.

I loved the Roddy Piper line as well as the one from Loomis in Halloween. All great picks!